Devil's Bridge of Borgo a Mozzano

The Ponte della Maddalena crosses the Serchio on four arches of wildly unequal size, the main span rising steeply to a point so that the roadway humps over it, probably built in the eleventh century under Matilda of Tuscany and reworked in the fourteenth. The legend says the master mason, unable to finish, accepted the devil's help in exchange for the first soul to cross, then sent a pig or a dog over; the tale attaches to many bridges of this shape across Europe. The crossing is steep and narrow enough that the bridge was bypassed by a modern road, and around 1900 an extra arch was opened through the bank-side abutment to let the Lucca-Aulla railway pass.

What you actually see

• The asymmetric arches - one huge span beside three small ones.
• The humped roadway - a crossing steep enough to be awkward on foot.
• The legend - the mason's bargain and the animal sent across.
• The railway arch - a small extra arch opened when the line was built.

When to go

Year-round; morning light and low water give the clearest reflection. Autumn colour on the valley sides suits the setting. It takes under an hour.

Honest expectations

It is one bridge in an ordinary valley town, seen quickly. Parking nearby is limited and the approach road is busy. Access on the bridge is narrow.

Nearby

The Garfagnana runs north; Lucca lies south.